Formula 1’s motorsport director Ross Brawn is anticipating a strong Ferrari response, while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff knows his team will have their backs against the wall at this weekend’s Monaco GP.
The tight and twisty streets of Monte Carlo are once again ready to play host to the world’s top drivers and is expected to flip the competitive order on its head once again with the reliance on mechanical grip and the chassis plays directly to the strengths of the Scuderia and Red Bull.
Last year, Monaco was arguably Mercedes’ worst race with Lewis Hamilton only finishing seventh having been knocked out in Q2 in qualifying following a crash for Esteban Ocon at the Swimming Pool.
While the situation may not be that bad this time, Wolff admits any chance of a repeat of their dominance in Spain is highly unlikely.
“Bloody worried,” he said, offering his emotions ahead of F1’s most prestigious race.“We’ve seen in the last years that there were always tracks that suited us well, and some that we weren’t perfect, for whatever reason.
“It’s very difficult to undo the DNA of a car, and Monaco, Budapest, Singapore, were all tracks where we underperformed – underperformed a lot – last year.
“It’s a great challenge for us to come back this year, tame the ‘diva’ – it’s not a diva this year, actually, she’s behaving better. It’s a difficult one. Why our car doesn’t like to be quick around the corners in Monaco, we haven’t found out yet.”
Hamilton agreed, looking at the traditional indicator that offers a glimpse into likely Monaco performance.
“The others are going to be hard to beat. If you look at Daniel Ricciardo [in Spain] he was much quicker in the last sector, and the last sector is all downforce, so they’re going to be rapid in Monaco and very hard to beat.”
But after Kimi Raikkonen claimed pole and Sebastian Vettel snatched victory 12 months ago, it is the Scuderia who head to the Principality as the favourites despite their drop in Catalonia.
“I expect that the Scuderia will fight back in Monaco, as will Red Bull, who were competitive in Spain, but not enough to fight for pole or the win,” he said.
“In all four previous races, the Italian team was always in the fight for pole, taking three out of the four, and for the win, which suggested the SF71H was the best car.
“Next up comes the Monaco Grand Prix and I expect to see Ferrari back on the pace there, capable of winning.”
